Question about printing with an HP 970 Cxi

[ScottW]

For the first time ever I tried printing a photo of my grandaughter today on my HP 970 Cxi. I just upgraded the printer driver and did some post processing in PS CS.

Initially the print looked pretty good. But after a few hours it started to flatten out. It looks like the contrast dropped or the black faded. I am using HP ink jet cartridges and some semi glossy photo paper a friend gave me to try. (Can't tell you the brand or type of paper but it isn't HP brand.) When setting up the printer I chose the generic HP photo paper setting.

Do I need to buy HP paper for this printer?
Are there special HP cartridges I need for printing quality images?

Thanks for the help.

[dn7elson]

I've found that you often need to lie to the HP printers about what paper you are using. For the generic choices, you often end up with less resolution. Try the HP matte photo or HP semi gloss (whichever you have) and see if it does not improve the image. If not, it may be the paper.

You may also need to experiment with paper brands and types and see what works best for you. I never liked any of the HP papers, so I seldom used them in my 970cse (same printer as the 970cxi, but with the added software bundle).

[ScottW]

Thanks Dale,

What brand paper have you had good luck with?

[dn7elson]

What brand paper have you had good luck with?

I use a lot of the Kodak Premium Picture Paper. I find that it usually does a pretty good job and is very inexpensive at Costco. It is a heavy weight (although not heaviest) glossy paper. At under $0.25/sheet, its a good buy for 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

I use the Kodak Picture Paper which is a two sided, soft gloss paper for my business marketing brochures. It takes the graphics and images well and allows printing on both sides. It would be a good choice for an informal family album with multiple images per page.